At Work With The Sound Mixer At The Metropolitan Opera

David Frost controls the soundboard for all of broadcasts for terrestrial and satellite radio, for the company’s in-house records, and for the HD cinema simulcasts. Joshua Barone watched him work on opening night: “He sits in a booth, following along with a conductor’s score and constantly adjusting several dozen faders, dials that control the levels on microphones set up onstage and throughout the orchestra pit. With the appearance of an organist juggling complex polyphony, he aims to match the high quality of studio recordings — only in real time.”